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Free Chinese & Japanese Online Dictionary

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Mandarin Chinese information. Old Wade-Giles romanization used only in Taiwan. Japanese information. Buddhist definition. Note: May not apply to all sects. Definition may be different outside of Buddhism.

There are 174 total results for your guardian search. I have created 2 pages of results for you. Each page contains 100 results...12>

guardian; defender (1) soldiers of the ritsuryo system that guarded gates of the imperial palace, the court, etc.; (2) term used in error to refer to young men that were made to do forced labour in the ritsuryo system; (3) guards originally stationed at the grand shrine at Ise and shrine at Atsuta, Nagoya to protect the officials there; (given name) Eiji

Guan Yu (-219), general of Shu and blood-brother of Liu Bei in Romance of the Three Kingdoms, fearsome fighter famous for virtue and loyalty; posomethingumously worshipped and identified with the guardian Bodhisattva Sangharama

to guard against; to exhort; to admonish or warn; to give up or stop doing something; Buddhist monastic discipline; ring (for a finger) (1) (かい only) {Buddh} admonition; commandment; (2) sila (precept) śīla, 尸羅. Precept, command, prohibition, discipline, rule; morality. It is applied to the five, eight, ten, 250, and other commandments. The five are: (1) not to kill; (2 ) not to steal; (3) not to commit adultery; (4) not to speak falsely; (5) not to drink wine. These are the commands for lay disciples; those who observe them will be reborn in the human realm. The Sarvāstivādins did not sanction the observance of a limited selection from them as did the 成實宗 Satyasiddhi school. Each of the five precepts has five guardian spirits, in all twenty-five, 五戒二十五神. The eight for lay disciples are the above five together with Nos. 7, 8, and 9 of the following; the ten commands for the ordained, monks and nuns, are the above five with the following: (6) not to use adornments of flowers, nor perfumes; (7) not to perform as an actor, juggler, acrobat, or go to watch and hear them; (8) not to sit on elevated, broad, and large divans (or beds); (9) not to eat except in regulation hours; (10) not to possess money, gold or silver, or precious things. The 具足戒full commands for a monk number 250, those for a nun are 348, commonly called 500. Śīla is also the first of the 五分法身, i.e. a condition above all moral error. The Sutra of Brahma's Net has the following after the first five: (6) not to speak of the sins of those in orders; (7) not to vaunt self and depreciate others; (8) not to be avaricious; (9) not to be angry; (10) not to slander the triratna.

the two guardian Deva kings; (personal name) Niwa; (personal name) Nioo; (surname) Niou The benevolent king, Buddha; the name Śākya is intp. as 能仁 able in generosity. Also an ancient king, probably imaginary, of the 'sixteen countries' of India, for whom the Buddha is said to have dictated the 仁王經, a sutra with two principal translations into Chinese, the first by Kumārajīva styled 仁王般若經 or 佛說仁王般若波羅蜜經 without magical formulae, the second by Amogha (不空) styled 仁王護國般若波羅蜜經, etc., into which the magical formulae were introduced; these were for royal ceremonials to protect the country from all kinds of calamities and induce prosperity.

(personal name) Seiji; (place-name, surname) Seishi He whose wisdom and power reach everywhere, Mahāsthāmaprāpta, i.e. 大勢至 q.v. Great power arrived (at maturity), the bodhisattva on the right of Amitābha, who is the guardian of Buddha-wisdom.; See 大勢至菩薩.

Kṣitigarbha, the Bodhisattva of the Great Vow (to save all souls before accepting Bodhi); also translated Earth Treasury, Earth Womb, or Earth Store Bodhisattva (surname) Jizou Ti-tsang, J. Jizō, Kṣitigarbha, 乞叉底蘗沙; Earth-store, Earth-treasury, or Earthwomb. One of the group of eight Dhvani- Bodhisattvas. With hints of a feminine origin, he is now the guardian of the earth. Though associated with Yama as overlord, and with the dead and the hells, his role is that of saviour. Depicted with the alarum staff with its six rings, he is accredited with power over the hells and is devoted to the saving of all creatures between the nirvana of Śākyamuni and the advent of Maitreya the fifth century he has been especially considered as the deliverer from the hells. His central place in China is at Chiu-hua-shan, forty li south-west of Ch'ing-yang in Anhui. In Japan he is also the protector of travellers by land and his image accordingly appears on the roads; bereaved parents put stones by his images to seek his aid in relieving the labours of their dead in the task of piling stones on the banks of the Buddhist Styx; he also helps women in labour. He is described as holding a place between the gods and men on the one hand and the hells on the other for saving all in distress; some say he is an incarnation of Yama. At dawn he sits immobile on the earth 地 and meditates on the myriads of its beings 藏. When represented as a monk, it may be through the influence of a Korean monk who is considered to be his incarnation, and who came to China in 653 and died in 728 at the age of 99 after residing at Chiu-hua-shan for seventy-five years: his body, not decaying, is said to have been gilded over and became an object of worship. Many have confused 眞羅 part of Korea with 暹羅 Siam. There are other developments of Ti-tsang, such as the 六地藏 Six Ti-tsang, i. e. severally converting or transforming those in the hells, pretas, animals, asuras, men, and the devas; these six Ti-tsang have different images and symbols. Ti-tsang has also six messengers 六使者: Yama for transforming those in hell; the pearl-holder for pretas; the strong one or animals; the devīof mercy for asuras; the devī of the treasure for human beings; one who has charge of the heavens for the devas. There is also the 延命地藏 Yanming Ti-tsang, who controls length of days and who is approached, as also may be P'u-hsien, for that Purpose; his two assistants are the Supervisors of good and evil 掌善 and 掌惡. Under another form, as 勝軍地藏 Ti-tsang is chiefly associated with the esoteric cult. The benefits derived from his worship are many, some say ten, others say twenty-eight. His vows are contained in the 地藏菩薩本願經. There is also the 大乘大集地藏十電經 tr. by Xuanzang in 10 juan in the seventh century, which probably influenced the spread of the Ti-tsang cult.

yaksha (malevolent spirit) (loanword); (fig.) ferocious-looking person yaksha (Buddhist guardian deities sometimes depicted as demonic warriors) (san: yaksa); (given name) Yasha 乞叉; 藥叉; 閱叉 yakṣa, (1) demons in the earth, or in the air, or in the lower heavens; they are malignant, and violent, and devourers (of human flesh). (2) The 八大將, the eight attendants of Kuvera, or Vaiśravaṇa, the god of wealth; those on earth bestow wealth, those in the empyrean houses and carriages, those in the lower heavens guard the moat and gates of the heavenly city. There is another set of sixteen. The names of all are given in 陀羅尼集經 3. See also 羅 for rakṣa and 吉 for kṛtya. yakṣa-kṛtya are credited with the powers of both yakṣa and kṛtya; (Skt. yakṣa)

(1) lion; (2) left-hand guardian dog at a Shinto shrine; (female given name) Noriko; (female given name) Shiko siṃha, a lion; also 枲伽; idem獅子 Buddha, likened to the lion, the king of animals, in respect of his fearlessness.

{Buddh} forbearance (in the face of difficulty, persecution, etc.) 羼提波羅蜜多 (or 羼底波羅蜜多) kṣānti pāramitā; patience, especially bearing insult and distress without resentment, the third of the six pāramitās 六度. Its guardian Bodhisattva is the third on the left in the hall of space in the Garbhadhātu.

Manjushri, the Bodhisattva of keen awareness (Buddhist term) Manjushri; Manjusri; Bodhisattva that represents transcendent wisdom; (p,s,f) Monju (文殊師利) Mañjuśrī 滿殊尸利 -later 曼殊室利. 文殊 is also used for Mañjunātha, Mañjudeva, Mañjughoṣa, Mañjuṣvara, et al. T., hjamdpal; J., Monju. Origin unknown; presumably, like most Buddhas and bodhisattvas, an idealization of a particular quality, in his case of Wisdom. Mañju is beautiful, Śrī; good fortune, virtue, majesty, lord, an epithet of a god. Six definitions are obtained from various scriptures: 妙首 (or 頭 ) wonderful or beautiful) head; 普首 universal head; 濡首 glossy head (probably a transliteration); 敬首 revered head; 妙德 wonderful virtue (or power); 妙吉祥 wonderfully auspicious; the last is a later translation in the 西域記. As guardian of wisdom 智慧 he is often placed on Śākyamuni's left, with 普顯 on the right as guardian of law 理, the latter holding the Law, the former the wisdom or exposition of it; formerly they held the reverse positions. He is often represented with five curls or waves to his hair indicating the 五智 q. v. or the five peaks; his hand holds the sword of wisdom and he sits on a lion emblematic of its stern majesty: but he has other forms. He is represented as a youth, i. e. eternal youth. His present abode is given as east of the universe, known as 淸涼山 clear and cool mountain, or a region 寶住 precious abode, or Abode of Treasures, or 寶氏 from which he derives one of his titles, 寶相如來. One of his dhāraṇīs prophesies China as his post-nirvāṇa realm. In past incarnations he is described as being the parent of many Buddhas and as having assisted the Buddha into existence; his title was 龍種上佛 the supreme Buddha of the nāgas, also 大身佛 or 神仙佛; now his title is 歡喜藏摩尼寶精佛 The spiritual Buddha who joyfully cares for the jewel: and his future title is to be 普現佛 Buddha universally revealed. In the 序品 Introductory Chapter of the Lotus Sutra he is also described as the ninth predecessor or Buddha-ancestor of Śākyamuni. He is looked on as the chief of the Bodhisattvas and represents them, as the chief disciple of the Buddha, or as his son 法王子. Hīnayāna counts Śāriputra as the wisest of the disciples, Mahāyāna gives Mañjuśrī the chief place, hence he is also styled 覺母 mother, or begetter of understanding. He is shown riding on either a lion or a peacock, or sitting on a white lotus; often he holds a book, emblem of wisdom, or a blue lotus; in certain rooms of a monastery he is shown as a monk; and he appears in military array as defender of the faith. His signs, magic words, and so on, are found in various sutras. His most famous centre in China is Wu-tai shan in Shansi. where he is the object of pilgrimages, especially of Mongols. The legends about him are many. He takes the place in Buddhism of Viśvakarman as Vulcan, or architect, of the universe. He is one of the eight Dhyāni-bodhisattvas, and sometimes has the image of Akṣobhya in his crown. He was mentioned in China as early as the fourth century and in the Lotus Sutra he frequently appears, especially as the converter of the daughter of the Dragon-king of the Ocean. He has five messengers 五使者 and eight youths 八童子 attending on him. His hall in the Garbhadhātu maṇḍala is the seventh, in which his group numbers twenty-five. His position is northeast. There are numerous sutras and other works with his name as title, e. g. 文殊師利問菩提經 Gayaśīrṣa sūtra, tr. by Kumārajīva 384-417: and its 論 or .Tīkā of Vasubandhu, tr. by Bodhiruci 535. see list in B. N.

variant of 閻羅|阎罗[Yan2 luo2]; Yama, King of Hell; translation of Sanskrit: Yama Raja {Buddh} Yama (king of the world of the dead, who judges the dead); Emma; Yan; Yomna; (surname) Enma 閻王 閻羅; (閻魔王); 閻摩羅; 閻老 Yama, also v. 夜; 閻羅王 Yama. (1) In the Vedas the god of the dead, with whom the spirits of the departed dwell. He was son of the Sun and had a twin sister Yamī or Yamuna. By some they were looked upon as the first human pair. (2) In later Brahmanic mythology, one of the eight Lokapālas, guardian of the South and ruler of the Yamadevaloka and judge of the dead. (3) In Buddhist mythology, the regent of the Nārakas, residing south of Jambudvīpa, outside of the Cakravālas, in a palace of copper and iron. Originally he is described as a king of Vaiśālī, who, when engaged in a bloody war, wished he were master of hell, and was accordingly reborn as Yama in hell together with his eighteen generals and his army of 80,000 men, who now serve him in purgatory. His sister Yamī deals with female culprits. Three times in every twenty-four hours demon pours into Yama's mouth boiling copper (by way of punishment), his subordinates receiving the same dose at the same time, until their sins are expiated, when he will be reborn as Samantarāja 普王. In China he rules the fifth court of purgatory. In some sources he is spoken of as ruling the eighteen judges of purgatory.

同生神; 同名天 The first two of these terms are intp. as the guardian deva, or spirit, who is sahaja, i. e. born or produced simultaneously with the person he protects; the last is the deva who has the same name as the one he protects; simultaneously born deity

The local guardian deity of the soil or locality, deus loci; in the classics and government sacrifices known as 社; as guardian deity of the grave 后土. The 土地堂 is the shrine of this deity as ruler of the site of a monastery, and is usually east of the main hall. On the 2nd and 16th of each month a 土地諷經 or reading of a sutra should be done at the shrine; earth deity

The great deva king, Mahākāla, the great black one, (1) title of Maheśvara, i.e. Śiva; (2) a guardian of monasteries, with black face, in the dining hall; he is said to have been a disciple of Mahādeva, a former incarnation of Śākyamuni.

Mahākāla 摩訶迦 (or 謌) 羅 the great black deva 大黑神. Two interpretations are given. The esoteric cult describes the deva as the masculine form of Kālī, i.e. Durgā, the wife of Śiva; with one face and eight arms, or three faces and six arms, a necklace of skulls, etc. He is worshipped as giving warlike power, and fierceness; said also to be an incarnation of Vairocana for the purpose of destroying the demons; and is described as 大時 the "great time" (-keeper) which seems to indicate Vairocana, the sun. The exoteric cult interprets him as a beneficent deva, a Pluto, or god of wealth. Consequently he is represented in two forms, by the one school as a fierce deva, by the other as a kindly happy deva. He is shown as one of the eight fierce guardians with trident, generally blue-black but sometimes white; he may have two elephants underfoot. Six arms and hands hold jewel, skull cup, chopper, drum, trident, elephant-goad. He is the tutelary god of Mongolian Buddhism. Six forms of Mahākāla are noted: (1) 比丘大黑 A black-faced disciple of the Buddha, said to be the Buddha as Mahādeva in a previous incarnation, now guardian of the refectory. (2) 摩訶迦羅大黑女 Kālī, the wife of Śiva. (3) 王子迦羅大黑 The son of Śiva. (4) 眞陀大黑 Cintāmaṇi, with the talismanic pearl, symbol of bestowing fortune. (5) 夜叉大黑 Subduer of demons. (6) 摩迦羅大黑 Mahākāla, who carries a bag on his back and holds a hammer in his right hand. J., Daikoku; M., Yeke-gara; T., Nag-po c'en-po.

{Buddh} Marici (or 摩梨支, or 摩里支); 末利支 Marīci. Rays of light, the sun's rays, said to go before the sun; mirage; also intp. as a wreath. A goddess, independent and sovereign, protectress against all violence and peril. 'In Brahmanic mythology, the personification of light, offspring of Brahmā, parent of Sūrya.' 'Among Chinese Buddhists Maritchi is represented as a female with eight arms, two of which are holding aloft emblems of sun and moon, and worshipped as goddess of light and as the guardian of all nations, whom she protects from the fury of war. She is addressed as 天后 queen of heaven, or as 斗姥 lit. mother of the Southern measure (μλρστζ Sagittarī), and identified with Tchundi' and 'with Mahēśvarī, the wife of Maheśvara, and has therefore the attribute Mātrikā', mother of Buddhas. Eitel. Taoists address her as Queen of Heaven.

(place-name) Bishamon (毘沙門天王) Vaiśravaṇa. Cf. 財 and 倶. One of the four mahārājas, guardian of the North, king of the yakṣas. Has the title 多聞; 普聞; universal or much hearing or learning, said to be so called because he heard the Buddha's preaching; but Vaiśravaṇa was son of Viśravas, which is from viśru, to be heard of far and wide, celebrated, and should be understood in this sense. Vaiśravaṇa is Kuvera, or Kubera, the Indian Pluto; originally a chief of evil spirits, afterwards the god of riches, and ruler of the northern quarter. Xuanzong built a temple to him in A. D. 753, since which he has been the god of wealth in China, and guardian at the entrance of Buddhist temples. In his right hand he often holds a banner or a lance, in his left a pearl or shrine, or a mongoose out of whose mouth jewels are pouring; under his feet are two demons. Colour, yellow.

Virūḍhaka. Known as Crystal king, and as 惡生王 Ill-born king. (1) A king of Kośala (son of Prasenajit), destroyer of Kapilavastu. (2) Ikṣvāku, father of the four founders of Kapilavastu. (3) One of the four mahārājas, guardian of the south, king of kumbhāṇḍas, worshipped in China as one of the twenty-four deva āryas; colour blue. Also, 毘璢王; 流離王; 婁勒王 (毘婁勒王); 樓黎王 (維樓黎王); 毘盧釋迦王 (or 毘盧宅迦王); 鼻溜茶迦, etc.

The five heavens of purity, in the fourth dhyāna heaven, where the saints dwell who will not return to another rebirth. Also Śuddhāvāsadeva, 'a deva who served as guardian angel to Śākyamuni and brought about his conversion. ' Eitel; Heaven of Pure Abode

(菴婆羅女) Āmradārika, Āmrapālī, Ambapālī; the guardian of the āmra tree; a female who presented to Śākyamuni the Āmravana garden; another legend says she was born of an āmra tree; mother of Jīvaka, son of Bimbisāra.

Ākāśagarbha, or Gaganagarbha, the central bodhisattva in the court of space in the garbhadhātu group; guardian of the treasury of all wisdom and achievement; his powers extend to the five directions of space; five forms of him are portrayed under different names; he is also identified with the dawn, Aruṇa, and the 明星 or Venus.

Apparently, we were the first ones who were crazy enough to think that western people might want a combined Chinese, Japanese, and Buddhist dictionary.

A lot of westerners can't tell the difference between Chinese and Japanese - and there is a reason for that. Chinese characters and even whole words were borrowed by Japan from the Chinese language in the 5th century. Much of the time, if a word or character is used in both languages, it will have the same or a similar meaning. However, this is not always true. Language evolves, and meanings independently change in each language.

Example: The Chinese character 湯 for soup (hot water) has come to mean bath (hot water) in Japanese. They have the same root meaning of "hot water", but a 湯屋 sign on a bathhouse in Japan would lead a Chinese person to think it was a "soup house" or a place to get a bowl of soup. See this: Soup or Bath

Chinese Buddhist terms come from Dictionary of Chinese Buddhist Terms by William Edward Soothill and Lewis Hodous. This is commonly referred to as "Soothill's'". It was first published in 1937 (and is now off copyright so we can use it here). Some of these definitions may be misleading, incomplete, or dated, but 95% of it is good information. Every professor who teaches Buddhism or Eastern Religion has a copy of this on their bookshelf. We incorporated these 16,850 entries into our dictionary database ourselves (it was lot of work).

No warranty as to the correctness, potential vulgarity, or clarity is expressed or implied. We did not write any of these definitions (though we occasionally act as a contributor/editor to the CC-CEDICT project). You are using this dictionary for free, and you get what you pay for.

The following titles are just to help people who are searching for an Asian dictionary to find this page.